Peter II of Aragon
| Peter II | |
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Engraving of a sealing of Peter II, ca 1196 to 1213
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King of Aragon Count of Barcelona |
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| Reign | 25 April 1196 – 12 September 1213 |
| Coronation | 1205 in Rome |
| Predecessor | Alfonso II |
| Successor | James I |
| Born | July 1178 Huesca |
| Died | 12 September 1213 (aged 35) Muret |
| Burial | priory of San Juan de Sijena |
| Spouse | Marie of Montpellier |
| Issue | James I of Aragon |
| House | Barcelona |
| Father | Alfonso II of Aragon |
| Mother | Sancha of Castile |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Peter II the Catholic (July 1178 – 12 September 1213) was the King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona from 1196 to 1213.
He was born in Huesca, the son of Alfonso II of Aragon and Sancha of Castile. In 1205 he acknowledged the feudal supremacy of the papacy and was crowned in Rome by Pope Innocent III, swearing to defend the Catholic faith (hence his surname, "the Catholic"). He was the first king of Aragon to be crowned by the pope.
In the first decade of the thirteenth century he commissioned the Liber feudorum Ceritaniae, an illustrated codex cartulary for the counties of Cerdagne, Conflent, and Roussillon.
On June 15, 1204 he married (as her third husband) Marie of Montpellier, daughter and heiress of William VIII of Montpellier by Eudocia Comnena. She gave him a son, James, but Peter soon repudiated her. Marie was popularly venerated as a saint for her piety and marital suffering, but was never canonized; she died in Rome in 1213.
Marie also perhaps bore Peter II a daughter, "Sancha", at Collioure in October, 1205 according to Christian Nique. ("Sancha" was born in 1206 according to other accounts; in 1208 according to Mark Gregory Pegg, but February 1208 is more likely the year the couple's son was born). Sancha was betrothed to Raymond VII the son Count Raymond VI of Toulouse, not long after her birth, according to Nique, only days (sources differ as to how long). The marriage contract included Marie's inheritance, Montpellier, which was to be passed to the child immediately should something happen to Peter, says Nique, citing documents discovered in 1850, something Marie would at first not agree too, but finally agreed to a few months later, stating that she had agreed under pressure. However the child's younger brother James makes no mention of her and Sancha was apparently dead before the New Year, according to Nique's information.
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